There are many situations in which it is necessary or advantageous to thread a flexible member (i.e. line, string, cord, rope, cable, etc.) around an object and through the opening it creates (i.e. branch, bar, pole, log, hole, ring, truss, loop, eye, etc.). From here on, we will refer to the flexible member as a rope and the opening as an eye. Often the eye is out of the reach of the person doing the task. This requires the person to physically move to within reach of the eye to thread the rope through and bring the end of the rope back. Another strategy is to tie the end of the rope to a weight and throw the weight through the eye to pull the rope with it, and then the weight with the end of the rope is retrieved.
Examples of such tasks include but are not limited to:
1) Threading a rope over a branch of a tree or around the trunk to secure a tarp, a clothes line, a swing, a bird feeder, photography or hunting blinds; prevent the tree from toppling; securing a damaged limb; or placing a climbing rope.
2) Lifting objects into the rafters or trusses of a building such as banners, balloons, decorations, lights, sets, speakers, piñatas, or construction materials.
3) Retrieving items across stretches of water such as boats, logs, or sunken objects.
4) Retrieving items from holes such as pipes, tools, or logs, or retrieving fallen animals.
5) Tasks in hazardous environments such as attaching slings to beams in collapsed buildings, securing safety lines to people stranded by fast water, etc.
6) Construction tasks such as securing scaffolding, attaching tag lines during hoisting, securing ladders prior to climbing, or attaching ropes for fall protection.
To accomplish these tasks using current methods requires personnel to incur varying degrees of personal safety risk. People must travel into hazardous environments, climb without fall protection, climb into holes, climb trees and poles, lean over voids, etc. Falls are a major cause of injuries. Throwing objects tied to ropes presents its own disadvantages and hazards. This method requires aiming skill, the weight may come loose and fly unrestrained, the weight may become entangled, the weight may swing back and strike the thrower or others, or the weight may cause damage as it completes its trajectory. The throwing method requires the person to move to another location to retrieve the end of the rope. To accomplish the above-mentioned tasks in a safe manner requires the erection of scaffolding, renting personnel cranes or lifts, or building permanent access structures.
There are many devices devised for passing a rope around an object. U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,160 for a Device for Passing A Rope Around An Object granted to Deichman on Mar. 8, 1994, provides a good description of the prior art and the disadvantages of each. The main detraction is that these devices require the device to be pushed against the object to activate. The other objection is the device must be large in relation to the eye. Deichman attempts to solve these but is not successful because the rope itself pushes on the object. The arm of this device also sweeps a large arc which is a serious disadvantage. Another device that passes a shuttle is U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,681 for a Mooring Hook granted to Morton on Jul. 11, 2000. This device has the disadvantage that it has wide arms relative to the target object, the arms sweep through arcs which would prevent its use if there were other obstructing objects nearby. Also, it is disadvantaged in that it cannot pass a rope through a small hole.
Other devices are found in the prior art; however they have significant disadvantages. Some change width and/or length and therefore require a significant space around the eye to activate. They have a wide path of action so they cannot work in restricted areas. Their activation has a sweeping or rotating action, and they cannot pass a rope through multiple obstacles like bushes or pine boughs. Other disadvantages are that some require a fixed object to act against, therefore they can't thread through soft eyes like a cloth loop on a life preserver for example. Some work with a limited size of eyes, some work on large objects, and some on small objects. The prior art attempts to pass a rope around an object but is not successful in passing a rope around nearly any size of object as well as through a range of hole sizes and configurations. A device to accomplish this would be a significant improvement.